What Liberty Bowl means for Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman's contract — and wallet
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football's AutoZone Liberty Bowl bid means more money for coach Sam Pittman.
Pittman signed a five-year, $25 million deal in June. Factoring in retention pay, the deal is worth $6 million this season, making Pittman the No. 8 highest-paid SEC coach at a public university at the time the contract was signed.
Baked into that new contract are a number of incentive payments. With the Razorbacks (6-6) set to play Kansas (6-6) in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 (4:30 p.m. CT, ESPN), Pittman is scheduled to receive a one-time bonus of $150,000.
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The $150,000 bonus would also have been triggered by an appearance in the Gator, ReliaQuest, Music City, Texas or Las Vegas bowls. Had Arkansas fallen into the lower tier of SEC bowl tie-ins, which includes the Gasparilla and Birmingham bowls, he would have received $100,000. A New Year's Six appearance would have meant $250,000.
Pittman's bowl bonus matches his previous contract, as he received $150,000 for last season's Outback Bowl appearance.
Pittman's deal includes incentives for win total. Under these terms, he would receive a $250,000 raise for reaching seven wins, which includes a potential Liberty Bowl victory over Kansas. Eight wins would have meant a $500,000, and nine or more wins would have earned him a $750,000 bump.
A win in Memphis would also trigger an automatic one-year contract extension.
Under his current contract, which runs through 2026, Pittman also accrues annual retention payments for staying at Arkansas that start at a rate of $1 million for 2022 and increase by $100,000 in each of the contract’s remaining four years.
Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Southwest Times Record and USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@swtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What Liberty Bowl means for Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman
